PBS KIDS

PBS KIDS is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children through curriculum-based entertainment. The PBS KIDS approach to learning focuses on the whole child, using all forms of media and technology to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity.

Just like the games available on PBSKIDS.org, Kart Kingdom is free.

Safety & Privacy

Kart Kingdom has been designed with safety and privacy as our top priorities.

Parents can trust that their children are playing in a safe online environment. No personally identifiable information is collected from the players or shared with other players at any time.

Players cannot communicate with each other in our social spaces except by using preset words and symbols, such as smiley faces and other emoticons. Since free typing is not allowed and all usernames are moderated, no personal information or inappropriate content can be shared.

Educational Curriculum

So far in history, for most people, complex systems have not been the sorts of warm and fuzzy things with which most people could or wanted to sympathize, let alone empathize. But good games create a strong empathetic identification with the game world as a system.

- Dr. James Gee, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University

PBS KIDS Kart Kingdom is developed with support of our educational advisor, the Center for Games & Impact at Arizona State University. This includes the educational resources below. Kart Kingdom allows kids to experiment and develop systems thinking ability as a way to determine the strategy most effective for reaching a desired outcome.

The player's relationship to the systems thinking within Kart Kingdom relies upon his or her ability to:

Explore different components of the system

Change the system

Reach various outcomes

Systems Thinking

Systems thinking means understanding how systems are interconnected and understanding the relationships among the dynamic components within those systems. A system refers to several different things that work together to create a whole, such as the pipes in the water system. Without the pipes, water cannot travel from the dam to your faucet at home. The idea of systems thinking is for an individual to understand what the system is and how it works. To be able to process using systems thinking is a crucial life skill for scientists, engineers, designers, etc. For a guide detailing the components of systems thinking, click here.

Parent Tips

Research shows that co-viewing television promotes deeper engagement with the content than when children watch alone. We believe that this is also true for co-playing the right video games with your children. Co-playing can take many different forms:

If you are comfortable with video games, you may be able to jump right in and play together with your child.

If your child is a more experienced gamer, she/he can serve as your guide and mentor in the experience.

Sometimes with younger children, you might be more experienced and can serve as a guide or mentor.

Even if you are not comfortable with gaming, you can watch your child play with a sibling or a friend, and talk with them as they play.

After co-play, you may choose to discuss the different components of Kart Kingdom with your child. Here are some questions you might ask. For a parent resource guide on Kart Kingdom, click here.

What are the parts of a quest in Kart Kingdom? What do you need to craft gadgets?

What is a system we use everyday? How do you use this system?

How does interaction with a part of the system affect the whole?

What are the short and long term effects of your use of the system?

How may Kart Kingdom be perceived as a system?

Educator Tips

Kart Kingdom can help kids understand systems thinking in a formal learning setting. It can be played in the classroom followed by discussion questions. We suggest that you do not introduce these games to your kids as an educational experience. Rather, encourage your students to see these games as they were generally created, to be engaging and entertaining. Some discussion points or questions include:

Start a quest. Notice the components of the levels as you move through them.

Craft a gadget. What do you do in order to craft gadgets?

What are the components of the levels that you played through? How do they work together?

Think of a system you experience everyday. What are the components of this system?

How does a problem in one part of this system affect the use of this system as a whole?

Rules

Be kind!
We’re all here to have fun! Please do not spam Kart Kingdom with repeat chat.

Be safe!
Keep your Kart Kingdom login information private by not sharing passwords. And make sure to logout of Kart Kingdom whenever you use a public computer - don’t let someone take over your account by accident!

Have fun!
We hope that you will see Kart Kingdom as a fun, exciting adventure!